Ernhoff had 14 goals, 36 assists, and 50 points in 79 games with the Vancouver Canucks.

Will update this story when more details are available. ]]>ChristianArn312@aol.com (Christian A. )June Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:59:54 +0000Brent Thompson Named Head Coach of the Sound Tigershttp://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/brent-thompson-named-head-coach-of-the-sound-tigers.html
http://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/brent-thompson-named-head-coach-of-the-sound-tigers.html

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have announced Brent Thompson as the new head coach for this upcoming season.

Thopmson has spent the previous two season behind the bench of the ECHL's Alaska Aces, who won the Kelly Cup this past season. Thompson was also the ECHL's coach of the year. Prior to his time in Alaska, he was an assistant coach with the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League from 2005-09.

“Brent’s background as a player and his recent success as the head coach of the Alaska Aces makes him the perfect fit to show our young prospects what it takes to play at the NHL level,” Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said in press release.

“I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to serve as the head coach of the Sound Tigers,” Thompson said in the same release. "I look forward to working with Garth Snow, Jack Capuano and the entire Hockey Operations staff in developing the organization’s prospects into everyday NHL players."

Kirill Kabanov made a surprise appearance at the Islanders draft party on Friday night.

The Isles third round pick in last years draft sported a brand new neck tatoo, which by the way was very bad A$$, and signing autographs for anyone who asked for one. The 18 year old, who now resides on Long Island, attended the draft party with his mother Natalie, who he lives with on Long Island.

Sean Croft of NYIFYI was smart enough to ask Kabanov a few questions. Here is the video of that conversation.

Last night at the Islanders annual draft party several members of the New York Islanders spoke to the gathered media at the Nassau Coliseum. While the media Crowd wasn't as large as was up in Minnesota, there were still a good number of reporters/bloggers in the house. Here is the audio from last night.

Political campaign rallies, sporting events from long ago and historic concerts are just some of the categories of pictures you will find in Nick Hirshon’s book, Images of America: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Inside, you’ll find classic images of sports teams that at one time or another called Nassau Coliseum home. Including the first lacrosse team that called the arena home, the Long Island Tomahawks, as well as the more recent teams, the New York Saints and Titans. Also you’ll find teams lesser known, like the tennis team the New York Sets. The sets called the old barn home from 1974 till 1977 and featured tennis star Billy Jean King on the team. The New York Dragons, Arrows, express, wrestlemania 2, bull riding events, the 1998 Goodwill games, rollor hockey and boxing images can also be seen in the book.

Not to mention a full chapter of classic images from the history of the New York Islanders.

If sports are not your thing, then you can still find pictures that will peak your interest. Pictures of the original blue prints, images of the construction of the building, and early promotional material for the arena can be found early in the book. Pictures from president Richard Nixon’s stop at the Nassau Coliseum in 1972 and Gerald Ford’s Halloween night campaign stop at Nassau Coliseum in 1976 can be found inside the book. Photos from past carnivals and concerts also grace the pages of this enjoyable book.

Nick Hirshon Interview by christian-arnold]]>ChristianArn312@aol.com (Christian A. )June Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:53:56 +0000Arena Proposal Public Information Meetingshttp://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/arena-proposal-public-information-meetings.html
http://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/arena-proposal-public-information-meetings.htmlThe County Executive will host a series of public information meetings from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on:• Wednesday, June 29th at the East Meadow Library at 1886 Front St. (Town of Hempstead).• Thursday, June 30th at the William P. Bennett Hicksville Community Center at 28 West Carl St. (Town of Oyster Bay).• Friday, July 1st at the American Legion Hall at 730 Willis Ave. in Williston Park (Town of N. Hempstead).

Uniondale, NY- Nassau County Executive, Ed Mangano, and Islanders owner, Charles Wang, unveiled specific details for the proposed $400 million bond referendum for a new arena and minor league ballpark.

In a press conference, held in the lower lobby of the Nassau Coliseum, Mangano announced the lease agreement that would keep the Islanders on Long Island until 2045, as well as important specifics to revenue sharing agreement between Wang and the county.

The county exec told reporters that through an agreement with the Islanders owner the county would generate $1.2 billion in revenue for the county, with $433 million going towards the debt service payments and leaving $403 million left over for the county to “ hold the line on property tax.”

Debt service payments will be $26 million annually and it is expected that the new arena would generate 28.2 million in the first year, allowing for a profit of around $2 million.

Also included is a guaranteed minimum payment of $14 million and limits the counties spending to a maximum of $350 million for the entire process of demolition and construction of the new arena. Any costs over that figure would be the responsibility of Charles Wang to pay. Michael Picker, Islanders senior vice president, also made sure to note that the cost for demolition was included in the $350 million.

"This is a giant step forward for Nassau's economy," Mangano said during the press conference. Mangano later added, "every pretzel, every hot dog, ticket, the taxpayers of Nassau County will receive a share of the revenue generated."

The surrounding area will be open for future development as well. Mangano said that further development for the coliseum area would involve a request for proposal (RFP) and that the Islanders would have input, but the final decision would rest with the county of Nassau.

The deal, should the referendum pass, would go into effect in 2015 leaving a two or three year gap, depending on the time of groundbreaking, between when the beginning of construction begins and when the revenue sharing begins. This is where the cost of around $50 to tax payers comes in. However it is believed that the revenue sharing would offset the increase in taxes down the road.

Ed Mangano will host a series of public information sessions as part of the PR campaign to help inform the public on the benefits of the proposed project. The first will take place next Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at the East Meadow Library at 1886 Front Street.

Audio

Ed Mangano speech

Charles Wang

Q & A Part 1

Q & A Part 2

Q & A Part 3

Q & A Part 4

Q & A Part 5

]]>ChristianArn312@aol.com (Christian A. )June Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:18:24 +0000Jagr to Sign with LA Kings?http://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/jagr-to-sign-with-la-kings.html
http://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2011-articles/june/jagr-to-sign-with-la-kings.htmlIt has been well documented as of late that former NHL superstar Jaromir Jagr is considering a return to North America after three seasons playing in the KHL in Russia.

What isn’t as well documented are all of the options with which he is considering signing, key word being all. The NHL itself has a story about Jagr eyeing the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, as well as an “unnamed” third team. Other outlets have reported Montreal as that team, and other options may include New York, they could use the offense, as could Washington, both teams he has played for. Pittsburgh makes sense having started his career there, as does Detroit, taking into account their love of players too old to make any kind of a significant impact.

But one team that hasn’t been mentioned yet and should be an obvious target is the Los Angeles Kings. This is a team that has been searching for more offensive power since the trade deadline in 2010. During the offseason they came very close to signing Ilya Kovalchuk but fell short. And at the deadline this past season they gave up, what one could argue, was too much for Dustin Penner. Jagr is one point shy of 1,600 for his NHL career, so he would obviously bring more offense to this team.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ryan Smyth recently informed the Los Angeles front office that he would like to be traded back to Edmonton to play the final year of his contract with the team where he was dubbed “Captain Canada.” Multiple hurdles stand in the way of that trade however; the Kings want to add offense, not trade it away. Edmonton is in the middle of a lengthy rebuild that is a year or two away from finally yielding a playoff spot, so they don’t want to give up any of their young assets. They also really don’t have any veteran players the Kings would feel are of equal value to Smyth and the Oilers wouldn’t likely give up anything more than a 4th round pick for him, less than what the Kings would accept.

But if LA could land Jagr, that would make it easier for them to trade Smyth without giving up offense. Of course, there is no telling how well Jagr will play, how much he’ll score, or if he’ll even be able to last a full 82 game schedule. He’d likely receive consistent games off and play somewhere between 60-75 games, but still, he is a risk because of all the unknown he’ll bring along with his 39 year old price tag. Plus, if he doesn’t pan out, or if LA is in a precarious position come the 2012 trade deadline and a team is looking for some added offense going into the postseason, the Kings could trade him come next March. Jagr will only receive a one year deal, so he would be easy to trade should the need come up.

Detroit is always a viable option for players on the way out looking for one last Cup run, and with his history in Pittsburgh, it seems even more likely that Jagr would sign there. But I think that if Los Angeles isn’t the third, “unnamed” option already, than they should at least become the fourth.

Friday afternoon the Islanders announced the resigning of enforcer/tough guy Trevor Gillies, a decision that has come as a surprise to some after the season he had on Long Island.

The decision is an ironic one since just a year ago Garth Snow said the Islanders wouldn’t bring in a one dimensional enforcer type player. Now the team has added several gritty, tough players, although they do have the ability to do more than just be enforcers.

However, Gillies hasn’t been used as anything other than that. He only had two goals this past season and finished as a minus three. He saw an average of around three minutes of ice time over the course of the season and the most playing time he saw was 8:56 against the New York Rangers on December 27.

In turn the signing makes little sense.

Of course he is best known throughout the league for his two suspensions last season. Gllies received a nine game suspension for his elbow to the head on Eric Tangradi on February 11 and then a ten game suspension on March 5 for a hit from behind on Cal Clutterbuck. Gillies had just come back from his previous nine game suspension and was only four shifts into the game when he was kicked out for his hit on Clutterbuck.

The two incidents were examples of how Gillies can let his emotions get the best of him, or that he need to be more responsible with his hits, or both. But the instances were PR nightmares for the Isles who faced weeks of criticism. Gillies has also been vilified in Pittsburgh as a thug and goon, although I’m sure he could careless.

Again in retrospect the decision to resign a player that was invisible on the ice, on a good night, is baffling and raises a more prominent question; will the Isles resign Zenon Konopka.

Since the trade deadline Konopka has expressed his desire to remain with the Islanders. He has been a vocal leader on and off the ice to the team. The most memorable times were during, ironically enough, the Gillies incident and when he called out TSN reporters during a morning skate after an anchor on SportsCentre called the Isles “the doormat of the NHL.”

Konopka led the team in face off wins, also will step up and defend his teammates and can score a little more often than Gillies has or did. Yet GM Garth Snow has been hesitant or does not want to resign Zenon Konopka.

Gillies will only be here for another season and it is just a two-way contract, but the fact the team has shown more of a commitment to player that has brought so much controversy, over one that has expressed the desire to stay with the Islanders for the long haul and holds value is concerning.

If Konopka is not resigned and Gillies is on the Islanders roster and not down in Bridgeport than there should be some question of the originations decision.

Ryan Murphy has spent the last two seasons tearing it up in the Ontario Hockey League with Kitchener Rangers.

Murphy was drafted by the Rangers in 2009 and preceded to have a stand out rookie season. In 62 games, he scored 6 goals and 33 assist for 39 points and led all OHL rookie defensemen in scoring, He then helped Kitchener reach the third round of the OHL Playoffs by putting up 17 points in 20 games.

The stand out rookie campaign drew the praise of legendary coach and CBC commentator Don Cherry, who went as far as to compare him to hall of famer Bobby Orr.

After a stellar rookie campaign Murphy’s play got even better the next season. He broke out for a 26 goals season, as well as putting up 53 assists for 79 points. In the playoffs he added two more goals and nine assists for 11 points. Murphy represented Canada in the U-18 World Junior Championship scoring four goals, nine assists for 13 points. He also played in the CHL Top Prospect game on Team Cherry and was named player of the game for his team.

Murphy is currently ranked 8th by the International scouting service and has been described as creative with the puck and valuable on the power play. Murphy was on Long Island last Wednesday to visit with Islanders management.

What the Scouts are Saying

Chris Edwards, NHL Central Scouting: "Ryan's work on the power play is outstanding, He sees the ice very well and is creative, [has] excellent passing ability and a great shot that he gets through to the net. (He's) also an excellent all-round skater. He's got real good mobility. He's a bit of a gambler. He does move the puck well, but he's going to have to concentrate on making good plays." (NHL.com)

Matias Strozyk, Elite Pospects: “A fairly small defenseman with strong skating and impressive on-ice-vision. Very creative with the puck. Reads the game well and really valuable with the man advantage. Has a nice release.” (Eliteprospects.com)

Steve Spott, Kitchener Rangers Head Coach: "He’s like no one else in this league. You can’t get to him, you can’t hit him. He’s a kid that’s slippery, his vision is second to none, his hockey sense is second to none. He can skate and he’s got a rocket. He’s got all the intangibles to be an all-star not only in this league, but the National Hockey League." (NHL.com)